The environment is everywhere.

BP had warned that the cofferdam approach had never been tried before. Which leads to the question of how hard were they working on Plans B and C when they were fashioning the cofferdam? It would seem they should have been working on a lot of options simultaneously.

A smaller dome is being readied that should be able to avoid the clogging issue of the larger dome.

Other questions to be asked include: could they not have done preliminary testing to determine ahead of time whether the cofferdam might plug up with methane hydrates? Who are the experts, if any, they are consulting with, and do they have the right one(s)?

Is the head of BP long for his job? I’d think not if BP has not been working very hard on a number of options at the same time, so that the next method would be ready right away in the case of failure.